Freeing Teresa: A True Story about My Sister and Me

By Franke James

When an idealistic activist objects to her siblings’ plan to ship their disabled sister off to a nursing home, she’s forced to choose between family and her sister’s freedom.

Franke James immediately objected when she heard the plan to put her sister, Teresa Heartchild, into a nursing home. Teresa herself, who was born with Down syndrome, refused even to consider the idea. She wanted to stay with her father. But none of this mattered to the other siblings, who were acting as Teresa’s “guardians.” They insisted they had all the power and said Teresa had to be thrown into the government care system. And so, the siblings took Teresa from her father’s home and put her into a nursing home. Franke was horrified. She put a team together to help Teresa get discharged. That’s when all hell broke loose. And the two sisters had to stand together—against their siblings, the medical system, and the police—to defend Teresa’s right to be free.

The old institutions have closed, but today there are thousands of young people with disabilities who are forced to live in nursing homes. This is a key civil rights issue for all people with disabilities—the right to decide where you live.